12 weeks and Starting to Show?

I’m a skinny human. Always have been. When I was a toddler, my mom was always trying to fatten me up. She’d feed me to the bursting point and then insist on “one more bite….” and then she joked that she was glad that the high chair held a full belly full, as everything she had painstakingly put into my mouth came right back up and she had to start all over again!

The one time in my life that you almost could say I got a tiny bit chubby was in that awkward 13-14 year old phase. My friends call it the “gordo phase” and when we were trying to prove that we all had a one, I came across this picture of one of my very first surfing experiences ever – Waikiki with a 10 ft board – the first time I felt “the glide”. Im just a little bit gordo (compared to me in other phases of life) – or maybe it’s just the unflattering tie-dye one piece!

After that point, it was back to skin and bones (and muscle!). It’s not that I didn’t eat, I do eat. I eat a lot! In high school i’d routinely devour an entire bag of microwave popcorn while doing homework and then an overflowing bowl of ice cream after dinner. In college the long hikes up and down the Black’s trail kept me clear of the “freshman 15” despite gorging on all that awesome food in the cafeteria (belgian waffles with whip cream and strawberry sauce, YUM!), and then once I was on tour competing and trying to eat more healthily, my slightly larger friends would call me “skeletor”. Even ex-boyfriends mentioned as tactfully as possible that it might be nice if I had a little more meat on my bones.

When I met my husband, also a skinny human, I suddenly felt normal! We eat healthily for sure, but we eat large quantities of food in an effort to put a little more meat on our bones. Even so, the hot weather and active lifestyle of Nicaragua keeps us nice and thin (whether we like it or not).

So call me crazy, but one thing i’m actually looking forward to about pregnancy is the weight gain! During pregnancy, your metabolism slows down in order to allow your body to absorb more nutrients. That combined with at least a month of much less activity (although since I was feeling sick a lot of the time, I wasn’t eating my normal quantity of food), has added a little bit of extra meat on my bones. Finally! I’ve also got a little belly forming – which seems early, except when you consider that i’m a skinny human and don’t have any belly fat to hide the bump.

As evidence, see the photo below. At first glance you might be thinking, “wait, which one is pregnant?” but compare the belly of me in this photo (orange bikini bottoms) to the one in the photo above and I think you’ll see what i’m talking about!

Now if only I could get a little bit of that fat in the places I really want it (padding those bony shoulders!)….

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2 thoughts on “12 weeks and Starting to Show?”

Dear Holly,
Congratulations!!! I was a skinny person like you before I had my son, didn’t change too much after except for my “deflated ” belly look. After you gaze upon your child all the pain or discomfort will drift back into minor memories. I know we have not met but my friend Paula, another surf sister has told me what a nice person you are!!! One of the best Mother’s Day gifts I ever had was surfing and sharing waves with my son!!! Your parents must be so happy and proud of you!!wishing you the best!

I’ve heard that if you are having a boy, you grow sideways and if you are having a girl, you grow out forward. Probably an old wives tale. heheh. I gained a bunch of weight, I was super concerned at first because Drs here get all uppity about every extra pound over what you are supposed to be. I soon learned to stop weighing myself b/c everyone is different. I just ate what I felt like eating. I think I ended up 5+ over what I was “supposed” to be. But then breastfeeding takes it all away and more (you will be super skeletor then!). Alas, eating toddler leftovers puts it all back on again!